Buyers Interested In Whirlpool Site, Rep Says

Buyers Interested In Whirlpool Site, Rep Says

A Whirlpool representative told Fort Smith leaders this week that talks continue with potential land buyers, two of which are “especially interested” in the former refrigerator plant on Jenny Lind Road.

A portion of Whirlpool’s 152-acre Fort Smith property has been contaminated with a substance called trichloroethylene, commonly referred to as TCE, since 1989, according to environmental consulting firm Environ. TCE, which was used as a degreasing solvent between the late 1960s and early 1980s before it was deemed harmful, was discovered more than a decade later under a nearby neighborhood, according to Whirlpool.

“Some studies of people exposed over long periods to high levels of trichloroethylene in drinking water or in workplace air have found evidence of increased cancer,” a document from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry states.

During a public hearing in November, ADEQ Deputy Director Ryan Benefield said that although “this chemical is toxic,” TCE is not making its way to the surface or expanding in size. He added that Whirlpool’s plan to use a chemical oxidant to treat the contaminated groundwater “will work based on the best information we have.” Those treatments began in March, Environ civil engineer Mike Ellis said.

“Real estate developers and companies that know what they’re doing have dealt with sites like this many, many times over,” he said.

Discussions between Whirlpool and potential property buyers have become “much more formal” lately, he added.

“The two parties that are especially interested in the parcel of property, we’re very active with them in discussions,” he said. “They see all the attributes to the site. It’s a great location in a great community.”

A deed restriction filed this week, Noel said, will help offer “clarity” to the “process going forward.” He described the deed restriction as a formal process “to assure future owners of the property comply” with engineering controls that Whirlpool agreed to in the state-approved plan.

“As an example, no wells can be dug for drinking water or use in manufacturing processes,” Noel wrote in an email.

The document also requires that a layer of clay or asphalt be left over the contaminated areas. It goes on to state that without prior approval from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, “the property may only be used for industrial or commercial purposes, provided, however, that in no event shall apartments, schools, hospitals, child day care, adult day care or restaurants with playgrounds be permitted uses on the property.”

The deed restriction also states the property’s factory may be demolished and removed only with prior state authorization.

Whirlpool announced in October 2010 that it would close its Fort Smith plant, then followed through in summer 2012. By that time, the plant’s workforce had dropped from the 4,600 it enjoyed in the mid-1990s to about 825, the result of several years of reductions.

The closing ended a half-century of operation at the plant, which opened in 1962 under the ownership of the Norge Co. The Norge plant manufactured freezers, refrigerators and air conditioners. Whirlpool bought the facility in 1966 and expanded its operation over the years.

In September 2012, Infinity Asset Solutions, a Canadian company, entered into negotiations with Whirlpool to purchase the property. A tentative offer was withdrawn later that fall.